Africa-Press – Uganda. Wave Mobile, the $1.7 billion fintech unicorn that transformed West Africa’s payments landscape, is now undergoing a major shift in direction evolving into a full-fledged bank.
A legal filing in Abidjan discloses that “WAVE BANK AFRICA S.A” was officially established on August 4, 2025, and registered on August 22. The new entity operates as a public limited company with an impressive share capital of 20 billion CFA francs (around $35 million).
The company’s declared mission is clear: to engage in banking operations in Côte d’Ivoire specifically the acceptance of deposits, processing of withdrawals, and provision of credit facilities.
The transition comes as no shock; it’s a deliberate and strategic reaction to mounting pressure from dominant telecom operators and regional regulators, whose actions have jeopardized the sustainability of Wave’s original business model.
The first pressure point comes from regulators. On September 30, the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) introduced its long-anticipated regional instant payment platform (PI-SPI), aimed at integrating the fragmented financial systems across the eight-member currency union.
Yet a closer look at the exclusive roster of 31 approved banks and mobile money operators exposes a striking exclusion: industry heavyweights MTN and Wave are conspicuously missing.
Wave’s omission from the PI-SPI launch roster may reflect a deliberate strategic move. However, missing out on one of the region’s most transformative financial infrastructure projects could deal a serious blow to the company’s ambitions.
Intensifying the regulatory strain, Wave now finds itself entrenched in a punishing price war with entrenched rivals such as Orange, the same players that secured spots on the PI-SPI platform.
After studying Wave’s disruptive model of 1% transfer fees and free withdrawals, telecom operators are now turning the same strategy against it.
In Côte d’Ivoire, MTN has escalated a fierce price war by eliminating withdrawal fees altogether, striking directly at the feature that once defined Wave’s competitive edge.
Meanwhile, in Cameroon, as Wave geared up for its launch, Orange Cameroon moved first, cutting all peer-to-peer transfer fees to zero and effectively dismantling Wave’s main value proposition before its debut.
This dual assault, a relentless fee war from rivals and tightening regulatory demands has pushed Wave into a vulnerable corner. When your greatest advantage is low pricing and competitors begin offering the same service for free, the only option left is to redefine your edge.
The establishment of “WAVE BANK AFRICA S.A” marks that crucial new edge.
The timing is no coincidence: Wave registered the bank on August 22—just nine days ahead of the central bank’s September 1 deadline for payment institution licenses, signaling a decisive strategic shift.
Instead of merely competing for a basic payment provider license, Wave is positioning itself to bypass the issue entirely by transforming into a fully licensed, deposit-taking, credit-issuing bank. This move would secure it direct access to the central bank’s infrastructure and, more critically, establish a stronger and more sustainable business model.
Wave is wagering that the future lies beyond low-margin payments and within the realm of high-margin credit. Its declared goal, “the mise à disposition de crédits” (the provision of credit), clearly indicates an intention to capitalize on its vast user base to drive lending operations.
The newly established bank, headed by Coura Carine Tine (Wave’s Regional Director in Dakar) as President of the Board and Bamba Abdoulaye Katier (General Manager of Wave Côte d’Ivoire) as Director General, represents Wave’s bold response. The signal for West Africa’s new phase of integrated finance has been fired, and Wave’s strategy isn’t to catch up—it’s to redefine the race altogether.
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